


Matchmakers and YouTube

by Sweetanco



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Clumsy Armin, Fluff, M/M, akwardness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2014-04-11
Packaged: 2018-01-03 09:42:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1068972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetanco/pseuds/Sweetanco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a prompt from tumblr: Popular Vlogger Armin spends his time on youtube, talking about the hilarious things that happen to him, especially around Eren Jaeger, the guy he's crushing on. He never expect Eren to find his channel. Neither does he expect Eren to take interest in the clumsy waiter that he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Original prompt  
> AU where Armin is a somewhat popular Youtube vlogger who talks about embarrassing/hilarious things that happen to him and how he’s always acting like a complete spazz in front of his crush and Eren (his crush, obviously) finds his channel and spends an entire weekend marathoning his videos and develops a crush of his own \o/
> 
> I'm only reposting it here from tumblr. The rating will go up in later chapters.

Finally home after a long day! Armin closed the door behind him and sighed tiredly. He should have gone back to his apartment after his classes ended instead of studying at the lab. That would have given him more time to rest before going to work.

Work… Just thinking about what had happened in the afternoon at the coffee shop made Armin want to dug a hole and hide inside. He shook his head when he felt his earlier embarrassment come back. No need to think about that again. Dropping his bag and keys in the living room, Armin made his way to the bathroom. First shower then video-logging. As usual, the thought of going online soon made him feel a tad bit better already. Soon he was done and headed straight for his living room, straight for his laptop.

Half a year ago, if someone had told him he would enjoy recording himself on camera and posting those videos online, Armin would have laughed at their face. Being as self-conscious as he was, there was just no way he would ever want to talk about himself for the whole world – at least the online one- to see. Yet there he was, loving his video-blogging on YouTube and being quite well known online. With a little over 2000 subscribers, Armin thought he had gotten pretty popular which was incredible in his opinion. It was quite a lot of subscribers and Armin wasn’t sure why he had gained so many of them. Sure some of them had mentioned that he looked cute, others that he was hot- stuff that he himself didn’t believe. There were also those who called him a really cool guy simply because he played video games and would sometimes give tutorials when he was done. But beyond that Armin always wondered, what people saw in him exactly. He didn't think of himself as interesting had never thought people would take interest in him.

When he wasn’t talking about his science projects, his friends or his favorite games, all he talked about was Eren Jaeger and how he turned into a complete klutz anywhere near him. So make that a gay, clumsy and nerdy guy on YouTube. Did some of them feel more sympathetic towards him because of his talking about Eren? A clumsy guy talking about his awkwardness around his guy crush on internet, totally interesting apparently.

Armin shrugged. His fingers ran over his keyboard as he thought about Eren. Taller than him by 5 inches, Eren had short brown hair framing an expressive face and beautiful green eyes. He also had an incredible smile at least in Armin’s opinion. Oh and he also a great body too. Although he wasn’t as muscular as some of the guy friends he came to the shop with, Eren still had well defined muscles that showed on his arms. That had made Armin wonder more often than not how the rest of Eren body was under his clothes. Like would he have a six pack under the t-shirts? He had heard at the coffee shop that Eren was a football player for the big university in town, a _Titan_. It wasn’t like he would ever find out anyway. They had never talked except for the occasional “hello what would you like to order?” he threw in Eren’s way whenever he came to the shop with his friends. Even then, Armin clumsiness had made sure that Eren wouldn’t want to talk to him, ever. 

There was that time when he had spilled Eren’s cappuccino fredo on his shirt. Thankfully it had been iced coffee so no burns for Eren. Just big stains on his clothes for the rest of the day.

Or that other time where he almost hit Eren’s sister with the food tray he was carrying.

There was also that time when he hit Eren with a broomstick while he was cleaning the restroom. Trying to apologize hadn't helped since in his panic, he had almost broken the neon light on the ceiling.

The worst was that those were only 3 times out of many more. Like just this afternoon, Armin had been so distracted when he saw Eren laughing with his friends, he had run tray first into the wall next to the kitchen door. It had been beyond embarrassing especially when everyone looked at him, sprawled on the floor with food all over him.

Feeling the warmth on his face, telltale sign that he was turning completely red, he hit his forehead with his hand. Armin hated how he turned into an awkward teenager every time Eren was around. The taller brunette only had to be somewhere in the vicinity for him to become a living disaster. Gone was the 21 year old Armin, leader of his promotion in the science department. Instead, there was a clumsy 12-year old boy fumbling around his crush. Talk about unattractive. It really wasn’t the best way to make the brunette notice him in a good way- Eren's horrified face after every incidents was pretty telling.

_Stop thinking about this over and over again._

It was better to think about something happier. Nodding to himself, Armin logged into his YouTube and immediately went to check his inbox. The various messages from his subscribers had him smiling. Some were checking up on him, others were wondering if anything new had happened between him and Eren, then there were those sharing something that happened to them with him. It always warmed him to know that he had managed to connect with some strangers online to the point where some treated him as their friends. After answering to every private messages he received, he checked his last vlog feed for replies. As per usual most of the comments were positive with only a few of them being insulting toward him. He had learned to overlook the occasional troll or mean comments to focus on the positive. One comment in particular got his attention.

“You should have more confidence in yourself. You’re a great guy you know, even if you get really clumsy sometimes. You need to stop being so self-conscious. Also try to talk to that guy you like. He’s always looking at you at the shop when you’re not looking. He might feel the same. Just try not to hurt him.”

Armin froze and read the comment again. It had some likes under it as well as a few replies asking the author whether they knew Armin in real life or not. Heart pounding, Armin wondered the same. The person had referred to the “shop” he worked at, a detail he never gave online. He had only mentioned crushing on a guy at work, nothing more, not even Eren’s real name. It was just E. But whoever the person was, they knew that Eren frequented the shop he worked at. Armin frowned. He had always thought about the possibility of someone from school recognizing him or worse one of the shop customers getting hold of his videos. But he had promptly dismissed the idea. With so many things to do on the net, who was ever going to find his little YouTube account or be interested in it? No one or at least no one who would even look at him twice in real life. Or that’s what he had thought.

Armin read the comment over and over again. No matter how much he didn’t want it to be true, it truly did seem like the author not only knew him but Eren too. They might even be close to him seeing how they didn’t want him to “hurt” the brunette. Whoever they were, they seem to be playing matchmaker for him and Eren. Armin didn’t know whether this was a good or a bad thing.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

Eren hardly glanced away from the TV as he asked his sister the question. His attention was solely focused on the task on hand, which was moving past his current level in his God of War III video game. Problem was his character was stuck trying to defeat Cronos, the giant god of time, with no success. Eren frowned when his character died for the 6th time that night and almost threw the controller away from him. Remembering that this was the 3rd controller he had bought in 2 months stopped him from doing so. No use breaking it again, not because of stupid Kratos anyway. How did people even pass the Cronos level in that game? Jean had told him this level would be easy …

“I said Armin Arlert is a vlogger on YouTube. He’s pretty popular too.”

Hearing Mikasa’s voice once again made him tear his eyes away from the TV. Feeling like it was no use to continue playing, he turned off his console and focused on her. She was sitting on his bed flipping through her magazine pages while she spoke. Eren sighed. Of course a moment ago she was trying to get him to pay attention to whatever she was saying yet the moment she finally had him where she wanted was the moment she chose to be interested in her magazine. Eren thought back to what she said and tried to put a face on the name. Nothing came to his mind.

“Armin Ar… Armin Aret… what was it again?”

“Armin Arlert.”

“Yeah Armin Arlert. Of course. Who’s that again?”

When Mikasa focused her attention on him, he immediately felt like he shouldn’t have asked the question. Despite her face being as inexpressive as always, Eren saw the way her eyes narrowed at him. 

“What? I’m just asking who this Armin is?”

“The blond waiter from the coffee shop who’s always breaking stuff when he’s not trying to hurt you. You know the one you always look at.”

“Oh…” 

The walking disaster, as Jean and Connie had come to call him. Eren laughed as he remembered what had happened in the afternoon: he had turned around just in time to see the blonde collide with the wall. It hadn’t been pretty…

Although Eren had been horrified at first by the string of accidents the blonde waiter seemed to have when they were at the _Braun’s_ , he had become used to it to the point where he was now expecting some disaster to happen everytime they went there. Not that he was waiting to see the blonde injure himself, far from it. It was just… The way the blonde would either destroy or knock stuff over had become kind of … endearing for Eren. Well, endearing wouldn’t really be the right word though. More like he associated the blonde with the incidents in his head and it had become normal. 

“You’re talking about the walking disaster.” Eren frowned as he registered what else Mikasa had said. “Wait, I’m not always looking at hi…” 

“His name is Armin, Eren. Armin Arlert.”

“Okay, okay. Armin.” As he said the name, Eren thought that it kinda suited the blonde. “He’s on YouTube?”

“Yes. He does vlogging on YouTube and is pretty popular too.”

Eren couldn't hide his surprise upon hearing that.

“Really? Seeing how clumsy he gets at the restaurant, I wonder how he doesn’t get tied around with all those wir… Oww what was that for?”

Eren looked up at his sister, irritated. She didn’t have to hit him on the head just now. What had he said that was bad again? She always did that when he was being “an idiot” according to her. 

“He isn’t stupid Eren and he isn’t always that awkward. Sasha is in the same department as he and she says he’s a great guy to talk to. He’s even one of the top students of their department. She's had him as a tutor from time to time and he's also helped her with her lab research assignments. She said that he was pretty normal, nothing like the clumsy guy we know.”

“Really? But at the coffee… I can’t remember a single time we were there and nothing happened. The only exception being when we’re over there and he’s not working.” 

“That’s the thing though: he’s been clumsy every time we were there. She told me it was pretty weird because she’s been there and he’s a great barista. He never acts like that with the other customers and they all love him.”

Mikasa got up and went to Eren's work desk, grabbing his laptop on her way. Eren’s brows furrowed as he thought about the new information.

“So you mean, the walk… I mean Armin only acts like that around us? But … why?”

Mikasa turned to him again and this time Eren could swear if Mikasa ever had a _“you’re disappointing”_ face, it would be that one.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Mikasa turned back to the laptop, keeping silent for a few moments. “Forever thick. But anyway, here is his YouTube channel.”

Thick? Eren opened his mouth to protest and ask her why but gave up instantly. Knowing Mikasa, she wouldn't bother answering anyway. Instead he grumbled under his breath and didn’t move. What was so interesting about the guy having a YouTube anyway?

“Why do you want me to check it so much? I mean he might be a nice guy and all but…”

“That video game you were playing? Sasha told me Armin was a real video game wizz and actually aced it. All 4 games in the series actually. He even has a tutorial of sorts in one of his video. ”

Eren immediately perked up at those words and joined his sister at the computer.

“Really? Wow that’s cool. I would have never taken him for the kind. That means he would know how to beat Cronos then.”

“I guess so. You’ll have to look through the videos though. Sasha told me that he talks about his blunders at the shop in his videos too. So I thought it might be fun to check it out. “

Eren smiled. The blond talked about all those incidents at the coffee shop? It could be fun to watch. Seeing how Armin was almost blabbering the few times he took their orders, Eren wondered how Armin fared online especially while talking about something that embarrassed him a lot. His red face after every incident had been more than telling. Eren then remembered what Mikasa had said about Armin not being that awkward usually, except when they were around. He frowned again. Could that mean that they made him nervous or something? Why would they?

Maybe those videos would help him understand. Eren nodded and watched as Mikasa clicked on the first video, never paying attention to the little smile on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for the kudos and bookmark. It makes me happy to see people interested in this story. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. It's again a chapter reposed from tumblr but with a few changes. Enjoy!

Having football practice so early wasn’t fun at all. Eren locked his car and yawned tiredly. He had totally forgotten about it over the week-end. Although, he honestly didn't think remembering football practice would have kept him from doing his little marathon over the week-end.

Mikasa had watched a few videos with him until she left to go back to her own apartment. Eren had kept on watching the videos for the rest of the week end, in between studying -a little- and eating. Watching those videos had made him want to learn more about who Armin and he had busy trying to find as much information on him as he could online. YouTube hadn't given him much to work with since but thankfully Facebook had been a success. Armin used his full name there so he had been easy to find. In between YouTube and Facebook Eren felt like he had learned a lot about the blonde by Sunday night.

Like for example, Armin wore glasses only when he was studying science. For some unknown reasons, he got so into science sometimes that when reading his books, the words became blurry. Eren had thought it sounded like the blonde waiter he knew.

Armin talked a lot about traveling around the world and seeing its wonders. It seemed his parents were archeologists or something similar making Eren conclude that he might have gotten his passion from them.

Armin would play with his hair depending on his mood. Frustrated Armin would run his hand through his hair a lot, completely messing them up. Bookish Armin would tie his hair up, it helped him focus. Nervous Armin would always tug his hair behind his ear, on the right side. 

Eren smiled as he remembered picking all of Armin's hair habits while watching his videos. Skipping sleep to check Armin's videos had been totally worth it. He would have never thought that the walking disaster would turn out to be not only adorable but also involuntarily sexy. Like the way Armin would sometimes bite into his lower lip and play with his hair as he looked at the camera. It had made Eren's lips and hands tingle with 2 different kind of needs, both related to Armin. He had replayed those parts of the videos quite a bit...

“You look like a total creep smiling like that. What are you even... Wait no. I don't wanna know what you're thinking about like at all.”

Eren turned towards the newcomer, annoyed that his fantasies got interrupted. Nothing like noisy Jean to start ruining his day.

“Hello to you, too, dumbass. I wouldn't tell you shit even if you asked me.”

“Hey who are you calling dumbass? Trying to pick a fight?”

“It's too early for you guys to fight like kids already. Hello, Jean.”

“Mikasa!”

The smile that broke on Jean's face as he said her name made Eren want to make a puking gesture. The way his best friend turned to jelly when he was around Mikasa was disgusting to see. It was like seeing a dog and his master. The fact that they were going out together wasn't reason enough to justify that. Turning around he made his way toward the university buildings waiting for Jean and Mikasa to catch up. Of course the two chose to walk extremely close to each other.

“How was your week-end? Was Kendo okay?” Jean threw a glance in Eren's direction. “Eren didn't do anything stupid, did he?”

“Hey!”

“Stop with the provocations, Jean. I was only at Eren's on Friday. Kendo training was okay. Professor Levi was there.”

Eren and Jean looked at each other and smiled. Despite her “it was okay” comment, they knew Mikasa had more than fun at her last Kendo session. Levi Smith was someone Mikasa deeply respected and viewed as a genius in Kendo. If he had been there this only meant that Kendo practice was extremely exciting for Mikasa.

“If that Levi guy was there then it means it was more than okay.”

“Yep definitely” Eren added with a fond smile in direction of his sister. She would never admit it but hey, they both knew it. 

“It's professor Levi.” Mikasa stopped walking and reached toward Jean’s clothes. “Jean your sweater-”

Before she had a chance of touching his sweater, Jean was raising her face and kissing her. Eren had to resist the urge of rolling his eyes when Mikasa closed her eyes and kissed him back. Although they kept it chaste enough, Mikasa still kept her head down to hide her slightly flushed cheeks the moment they came up for air. Whatever it was she had wanted to do with Jean's sweater she seemed to have forgotten.  

“Hi, baby.” Jean smiled as he stroked her cheek.

“Hi, dummy.” 

Eren turned away, wishing someone would come and gouge his eyes out. Seeing his best friend and his sister kiss and act like a dumb couple this early in the morning wasn't something he needed or wanted. Despite them having known each other since childhood and their relationship being over a year old, they still acted like a new couple every time they kissed in public. Mikasa turned shy and Jean… Actually Eren didn’t think he wanted to describe his best friend at all.

“You guys make me sick.”

Jean turned toward him smirking. “You're always saying that but deep inside, you're just jealous because I have Mikasa while you have... well no one.”

Eren wondered for the hundredth time how he and Jean had ever become friends, not to mention best friends. Scowling in Jean's direction, he decided to leave them behind.

“Hey, I was kidding.”

It only made Eren walk faster, in hope of reaching his building before they caught up to him. He would never admit that Jean's comment had hit close to home. He did find Jean and Mikasa's relationship sickeningly sweet but at the same time they made him envious. Their relationship was stable, they were comfortable around each other and more than anything happy together. Even his sister couldn't keep her unreadable face around her boyfriend for too long. Her expression either softened or livened up when she was with Jean, something the other boy still had trouble picking on. It often resulted in him asking Eren if Mikasa really liked him or not. Although Eren found his best friend stupid sometimes, he couldn't exactly blame him for being unsure when his sister had ignored him for quite a long time before they started going out. Even Eren had troubles realizing Mikasa was interested in Jean when she started showing signs of liking him and they grew up together. Still the two of them found ways to make it work between them.

Eren was both happy for them and jealous at the same time. He wished he had someone like that in his life, someone he could feel connected to, someone to hold and take care of.  Someone with whom he would be happy. A girlfriend or a boyfriend, it didn't matter really. Gender was just semantics for him since he had always considered that love looked past gender. He just wanted to find his someone. The thought brought him back to his week-end and he remembered the expressive blue eyes.

_You might have finally found that someone._

Eren nodded to himself, his earlier good mood coming back. Might was a key word, true, but still there was cause to hope. For some reasons Armin Arlert seemed to like him a lot. Like a whole lot. For someone who seemed kind of withdrawn to themselves, Armin talked a lot in front of the camera. It was as if he kept everything inside during the day and then let it all out once he was at home. In his videos, he had spent a lot of time rambling about a tall brunette with green eyes whom he had probably scared away with his clumsiness.

At first Eren had thought the vague description Armin had given of his crush sounded a lot like him but he had quickly dismissed the thought. There were enough tall brunette with green eyes around. Yet as he went through the videos and listened to Armin rambling about the incidents at this workplace, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that it was him anymore. Armin almost hitting his crush sister –Mikasa-, Armin spilling coffee on his crush shirt or that incident with the register... Eren could remember all of those incidents clearly and that only reinforced the idea that Armin was talking about him. Armin liked him, Eren. It wasn’t like no one had ever been interested in him at all. Eren had had relationships in the past and still was hit on by both girls and guys. What had amazed him was someone the very intelligent, cute and video game ace Armin Arlert was interested in his person. The knowledge had made him feel like puffing out his chest arrogantly, for reasons Eren himself didn’t really understand. 

Had Mikasa known about this when she had insisted he watched the videos? After what had happened a few years ago with Annie, he wouldn't put it past her. His sister could be a scheming master and a matchmaker from hell when she felt like it. But no matter, Eren was glad for Mikasa’s initiative. It was a great thing Armin was interested. Witnessing all the disaster around the blond at the shop had both scared and made Eren curious about him, although Eren never did much about that and just kept watching him. Now after that long week-end, he felt a strong desire to get to know Armin and also maybe help him feel better about himself. At the shop, it had been funny to see an embarrassed Armin’s face after every incident. Hearing him talk about it on YouTube and seeing how dejected Armin was had actually made Eren feel bad. He needed to do something for the blond.

_It’s never too late to make things better._

Indeed. Armin may have been awkward around him but he was also incredibly endearing. At least in Eren’s opinion. Watching all those videos, seeing his pictures, catching his quirks … Eren was definitely interested now, although he did feel a tad bit like a stalker. Semantics really. He smiled confidently as he adjusted his bag on his shoulder. His plan to make Armin his “future boyfriend” would start today. And what better way to start than by wearing a shirt Armin seemed to like a lot on him? The yellow sweatshirt with green/brown stripes which emphasized his green eyes. That was exactly how Armin had described it online. Eren couldn’t wait for the next time he saw the blond. If everything went the way he wanted it to, Jean would stop mocking him for being _single_ in the future.

“You're smiling again. You’re really creepy this morning.”

“Shut up Jean. I'm thinking about something important here.” Eren spotted some of his football teammates and waved to them. “Gotta go. We’re going to _Braun’s_ later right?” 

Jean shrugged. “Sure. You guys sure love that coffee shop. I know the walking disast...”

“His name is Armin Arlert,” Mikasa and Eren answered together.

Jean blinked, then squinted.

“Okay you guys need to tell me what’s going on. Something has to be going on when Eren know that blond guy's name.”

“Sure. Later. I gotta run.” Eren waved at them before going on his way.

Jean watched after his best friend for a little bit before he turned towards Mikasa… only to find her walking quickly in the direction of her own building. Translation: she didn't want to answer his questions. Jean shook his head and followed her. They would tell him later anyway, one way or another.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

He wasn’t acting like a paranoiac... Was he? Armin glanced around the coffee shop, waiting to see whose eyes would meet his.

After seeing that message on YouTube, he hadn’t been able to stop feeling like there were eyes on him everywhere he went. He wouldn’t stop looking over his shoulder everywhere he went. Today was no exception. It was already afternoon but he didn't feel any better. Blame that on his mind over thinking the implied “I know you” part of the comment. 

All Armin had been thinking about since Friday was trying to discover the identity of that user. He had tried looking at their YouTube channel but there was absolutely nothing there. Did they go to his school? Did they go to Eren’s? How did they know him? Were they close to Eren? Armin understood that this might all be him overreacting, that whoever had written that comment could have been joking or trying to get a reaction out of him. It still didn't stop him from glancing around and being jumping. 

“Armin, stop. You’re scaring the customers with that face. I don’t pay you to play detective.”

Startled by his boss’ voice, Armin turned to find Reiner standing behind him with his arms crossed on his massive chest. His niece, Historia, was using the coffee machine next to him probably serving a customer. If Reiner’s frown was anything to go by, Historia might have covered for him again and attended to a customer he should have been serving. He swore under his breath. It was a wonder Reiner hadn't fired him already seeing his behavior these last months. 

“Sorry Reiner, Historia. I've been nothing but a hindrance today.”

Done with her order, Historia swiftly placed the plates of patisserie and the drinks on the serving tray. When she turned toward him, she had her usual beautiful smile on.

“Don’t worry Armin, I’ve got this. You’ve helped enough today anyway. I would have felt spooked, too, if I had seen a comment like that.”

Reiner opened his mouth ready to say something but she interrupted him.

“It’s just that acting like this won’t help you find the culprit, you know. If they've been watching you for a long time, then they’re really good at concealing themselves. So you won’t be able to catch them, especially after they've revealed that they were watching you.” 

Armin nodded. He knew all that. The logical part of his brain had already analyzed that bit. But it still didn't stop his body from reacting like that. For now, he was just thankful Eren hadn’t come in today. Between worrying about the YouTube user and being distracted by Eren, Armin would have been a total catastrophe for the shop.

Historia went to deliver the customer’s order in a record time and was back just as Reiner sighed.

“Look if you need the rest of your day off, take it. You've been here since early in the morning.”

“No it’s okay. I -”

“Hello. Could we have today’s menu?”

Armin froze. That voice… It was the tall blond guy who always came in with Eren and the others, the one they called Jean. Even in that state of mind Armin’s mind supplied the information easily. Jean being there would only mean… Armin turned slowly, heart thumping in his chest as he met the familiar figure of his crush. A smiling Eren stood there in between Mikasa and Jean.

_Eren is there! He looks so good today! That shirt really suits him best.  
_

_Wait no, focus! This isn’t the time!_

But despite the admonition from the more logical part of his brain, focusing was far from his mind when he caught on the way Eren was smiling.

_Why does he have to be so hot? And he really has a beautiful smile. Wait, is he... smiling at me?_

“Hi Armin. What's up?”

The blonde took a shuddering breath and gripped the counter. This had got to be a dream. Eren had just called him by his name. A good dream. He didn't want to wake up.

Behind him, Reiner groaned unhappily, grumbling under his breath about how he definitely needed to send Armin home the boy ended burning the his shop to the ground before the end of the day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I want to thank everyone for the nice reviews. They helped me get trough writing this chapter and the next one. I would like to apologize in advance because this version of chapter 3 in unbetaed for now. I will edit this later. Please take note that for the first half, the italics refers to Armin talking during Vlogs.
> 
>  
> 
> I would also like to precise that football in this fic refers to soccer. It's important you guys know that in advance so you guys don't get confused later on. On this, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

 

“ _Hi everyone. It's time for another tales of the awkward with Armin aka me. You won’t ever believe what happened to me today._ “

Armin paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before he continued. Eren thought if Armin's expression was a mixture of excitement and self-consciousness and felt better. Eren hadn’t been able to tell much from Armin’s reaction when he tried to interact with him at the coffee shop 2 days ago. Now as he watched Armin's latest vlog, Eren could finally see his emotions since Armin was in his natural element in front of his camera.

“ _He talked to me today! I still can’t believe it! I mean he knew my name and he kept saying my name while he talked to me. He looked really good today too. Not that he looked exceptionally good or anything like that. I don’t know if you guys remember that green shirt of his I said I liked most? He was wearing it today and it enhances his eyes color so much! I really like it when he wears that shirt. Did I mention he was smiling too and really looked at me today? You guys should see the way his face lights up when he smiles. Even his eyes shines. Sometimes I can't believe how handsome… no make that hot. I can’t believe how hot he is sometimes._ “

The brunette wasn't sure if it was the far-away, almost dreamy like expression on Armin's face as he talked about him or if it was Armin's complimenting his looks, but he turned slightly red at those compliments. It had been one thing to watch the blonde get those expression when Eren didn’t know that the guy Armin liked was him. But now, knowing t Armin was talking about him made Eren feel like he was intruding on his privacy.

His conscience choose that moment to remind him again that this was the reason why he should stop watching Armin's vlogs. Before it was fine because he was blissfully ignorant, but now that he had learned the truth, he always felt like he was cheating when he went to Armin's YouTube channel. Now, Eren knew about Armin's feelings for him whereas Armin had nothing on Eren in turn. Feeling guilty again, Eren was ready to close the window but couldn’t bring himself to do it when Armin started talking again. No longer listening to his conscience, Eren kept watching, promising to himself that he would stop watching Armin's videos after this one. Or at least he could avoid checking them often.

“ _Now that I think about it, maybe I was too shocked or in sensory overload from having him in front of me, interacting with me. That might be the reason why I was… Oh well. That’s me for you. There was that guy I’ve been wanting to talk to for so long, talking to me and asking me questions like what I would recommend to him from the menu or if I had been working since early morning, and always saying my name. And I couldn't even answer him properly. When I wasn't acting like I was mute, the only word that came out of my mouth was yes. Seriously. It was so awkward!_

_Like he would just stand there looking at me expectantly and when he received no good answer there would be that expression of disappointment on his face... But it's not like I didn't want to him there! I really wanted to talk to him but it felt like I was frozen. You guys should know how long I've waited to interact with him, to even get a chance to have a normal conversation with him, without me trying to kill him in some way! Today he gave me that opportunity and I didn't take it, couldn't take it._

_He knows my name (I know I say that a lot but I’m still surprised he does) and he even introduced himself to me. It was kind of funny since I already knew his name, had for months. There’s just no way you won’t know the name of the guy you like. What kind of person does that make you? I already have something akin to an eidetic memory and it works on mundane things like remembering people I meet during the day. So you bet I would learn the name of the guy who makes me crazy… Okay maybe crazy is a big word. But I think I'm crazy about him... Haha it sound kind of accurate though. Look at me rambling about unnecessary things…_

_Anyway, I don't know if he's ever going to want to talk to me again after today. As if that wasn’t enough, I made my boss use physical force on me to make me move. Not that he beat me up, he would never hurt a soul. Rei is really nice. What he did though was grab me and push me aside so he could get access to the register. He said he had asked me to move repeatedly before but I couldn’t hear him. Awkward and embarrassing all in one. I would be lucky if he even say hi to me in the future._ ”

Armin hid his face in his hands and shook his head as if he still couldn't believe it. Eren could see that Armin's ears had turned red probably in embarrassment over his reaction. Eren reached for his laptop screen, mind focused on trying to reassure the blonde at that moment. His hand stopped before reaching the screen though. What he needed to do was show to Armin that he didn't think any less of him. To show him that he still wanted to talk to him and wanted even more to get to know him.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

For the next few days, Eren went back to the coffee shop every single day. He made sure to interact with Armin every time he saw him, even if the blond would still not give him any proper answer or reaction. Eren understood that Armin was experiencing a block of some sort when he saw him. Armin did want to talk with him but couldn't because of his awkwardness. What Eren needed was to find a way around that.

One night, he decided to call Mikasa, wanting to hear her opinion on the way he was approaching Armin. After all, she had been the one to show him Armin's YT channel and Eren knew his sister could be a great help in this. As much as he didn't like to admit it, Mikasa was able to read other people's emotions better than he ever could, and that was before she became a sociology major. If anyone could help him break through Armin’s self-awareness, it would be Mikasa.

“You told me that you were pretty sure that Armin liked you but was just extremely self-conscious and downright clumsy around you. It's all fine and all but the fact that you affect him like that could be bad. It won't be easy for him to get past his self-consciousness toward you. You'll have to give him time Eren, be patient with him if you don't want him to start avoiding you. Just try to talk to him for now, without trying to push him for anything else. Try to be his friend first. No flirting, no nothing until you can get him to open a bit to you. Don't press him too hard, Eren.”

He had followed her advices and tried to avoid engaging outright conversation with Armin like that. Rather he would make sure Armin knew he was there, either by calling him, smiling at him or waving in his direction when they made eye contact. Armin would sometimes flush and hurry away to Eren's disappointment, but Eren kept on persisting in this, trying his hardest to never push Armin or force him to talk to him.

His behavior started to pay off when Armin actually waved back at him sometimes during the following week. Little by little, the blonde had started greeting Eren or he would sometimes smile back at him. Eren had been happy about it of course, even reported this to Mikasa and Jean who then proceeded to make fun of his eagerness. Eren had been so happy he hadn’t been bothered by his friends mocking him. His interactions with Armin were getting better and it was all that mattered.

But nothing had prepared him for Armin actually talking to him 3 weeks after their first interaction. He had gone to the Braun’s that afternoon like he would have done any other day.

“Afternoon Armin. Could I have an iced coffee please? A large one.”

“Good afternoon E... Eren. It's nice to see you ... here.”

The brunette almost did a double take when Armin answered him but he was already making him his drink. While Armin kept his eyes down and avoided Eren’s gaze, Eren watched him shocked. Armin had finally interacted with him. When Armin gave his drink, Eren thought quickly as he looked around him. Activities were slow for the afternoon and there were only 4 other customers beside him. Eren decided to use that as an opportunity to talk a little bit more with Armin.

“Thanks Armin. It's really hot today, isn't it?”

Armin blinked at Eren a few times before he dropped his gaze again.

“Ye... Yes. The weather forecast announced that it would be much cooler in the evening though.”

“Oh they did? I was in a hurry this morning so I didn't check before I went out.” Eren felt like pumping his fist in the air as a sign of victory but refrained from doing so when he remembered they were in public. Armin might also think he was weird. “I'm screwed if it gets cold though, I didn't take any sweater with me today.”

“Not to worry, they didn't talk about it getting cold. Just the temperature dropping by at least 4°, not enough for you to be cold. You'll be fine. I mean most people will be fine.”

Eren wasn't sure Armin had realized he was looking up at him again but he was glad. He smiled and took a sip out of his drink, welcoming the coldness in his mouth.

“Okay, thanks for the info. You're a real life-saver Armin. How much do I owe you?”

After Armin told him, Eren paid and waited as Armin struggled a bit with the register before he got it to open.

“Old register?”

Armin flushed slightly and kept his eyes down, making Eren worry that he might have said something he shouldn't.

“No, the register is new. I'm just being clumsy with y... Err I mean I just struggle with it sometimes, if I'm not paying attention.”

Eren laughed it off, trying to make Armin more comfortable. “Cashier problems... I have been there too. Except in my case, the register got completely stuck. It was mortifying at first but then I learned that it happened often with the old cashiers at that place. In extreme cases, we inserted insert a knife on the side and try to open it as we push the enter button simultaneously. It was insane. One of the customer almost got a heart attack when she saw me grab the pocket knife.”

This time, Armin was the one who laughed, visibly entertained by Eren's story. “Wow, that’s something. Did that customer ever complain to your boss? Reiner would kill me if he heard or saw anything like that happening here. Is there something wrong?”

Caught off-guard by Armin’s laughter, Eren stared at him without blinking. He hadn’t been prepared for the way Armin’s face would relax when he laughed. Just like he hadn’t been ready for the sound of his happy laughter. It may have been brief but to Eren, it was still something interesting to hear nonetheless. He had seen Armin laugh on camera but more often than not it had been Armin mocking himself. This laughter though felt more genuine and it was much better.

“You should really laugh like that more often. It's sounds nice, genuine even and your face also gets all ...”

When he saw Armin shocked face, Eren realized that he hadn't been able to keep his thoughts to himself. After a moment of uneasy silence, they both blushed as they looked away from each other. _Shit! What am I doing? Mikasa said to keep this on a friendly level. But I had to go and talk about his laughter like a dork._ He should probably go before he said anything more embarrassing.

“So... I think it's time for me to go.” Eren moved back to the entrance door. “It was nice talking to you Armin. I'll see ya tom...”

“Wait, Eren!” Eren started a little when he felt a hand grab his wrist. He slowly turned to meet Armin's face. The blonde blushed and looked away. “I... I... I just wanted you to know that I think... I think you have a nice laugh too. Also thank you.”

“I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye Eren.” Armin let his wrist go and went back to behind the counter.

Eren eyes widened in surprise. Not only had Armin talked to him today, he had just complimented him. Could this day get better? After this, there was no way he would be able to take things slowly. Mikasa would be mad at him later but he couldn’t resist Armin. Like how did one take it slowly when the guy they were interested in said stuff like “You have a beautiful smile” to them while blushing? There was just no way to resist that. Anyone who had been in his situation would agree with him.

He needed to invite Armin somewhere, soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so much time! I was super busy but no worries, I'm still writing this and will finish it up soon. I rewrote the last 3 chapters some, with no big changes, just beta-ing myself all over again. 
> 
> Here comes the 4th chapter.

“You came today? When? I didn’t see you.”

“You couldn’t. The blonde girl… what did you say her name was again?”

“Historia?” Armin smiled. This was the third time Eren was asking him for her name. He had troubles memorizing it for some reasons. But then again they didn’t interact together as much as Eren did with him.

“Yeah Historia, she said you were in the kitchen, helping with pastries. There were a lot of people in today.”

“It’s been pretty hectic at the shop this week. There is some kind of convention around the university so we’ve had an influx of customers, many of them tourists. I've never been more thankful that my mom is French and insisted on me learning to speak the language. I feel like I've heard enough French to last me a lifetime.” He had spoken so much French for the past 2 days, he had troubles switching back to his father tongue.

Eren laughed, a deep and rich sound that Armin felt through his body. He closed his eyes. He really needed to get a grip. It was reaching another madness level when Eren laughing on the phone affected him that way.

“Sorry to hear that. At least you can speak a second language beside German. I know very few words in French the basic yes, no and please. You make me envious but not to the point where I would take your place at the shop. It sounds tiring.”

“I wouldn't want you to given that you don't speak French. But you know the worse is that it's kind of my own fault. Many of the tourists customers were trying to speak either German or English but the moment they heard me speak French with that lady, they all switched to it. Tiring doesn't even begin to describe how I feel.”

“Sound like you could really use a break.”

“You don't say. I'm desperately praying the week-end to get here already.” _But you wouldn’t mind spending that week-end with Eren, especially in his arms, right?_   Armin knew he wouldn't mind, it sounded like a week-end in heaven from where he sat. If only he could will himself to invite Eren. But even after a month, he still couldn’t ask, fearing that Eren wasn’t interested in him like that.

He heard Eren take a deep breath in his hear and wondered what was going on.

“About that, do you want to… would you go - get interested in joining our group study?”

Armin tried to quell the disappointment inside him. For a minute he had thought… Oh well it didn’t really matter. Blame his hyper active imagination he guessed.

“A group study? Sure. When?”

“Ah… I need to get in touch with the others first. But I’ll let you know soon.”

“Okay.”

“Great. I’ve got to go, I need to finish that paper on the Foundations of Christian theology.”

“Oh. Good then. I guess I’ll talk to you another day. Take care and good luck with your paper.”

“Sure. Good night Armin.”

“Night to you too Eren.”

Even after hanging up, Armin kept staring on his phone. That was weird. The conversation had started so well, yet near the end, it seemed like Eren was in a hurry of getting off the phone. Had he said something wrong?

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

“Group study. Really Eren? That’s...incredibly lame.” Jean burst into laughter, earning their table glares from the other customers. If stare could kill, Eren was certain he would have killed his best friend by now.

“You’re making that scary expression again. Look it’s not my fault you can’t man up and ask your guy out straight up. How long has it been? Over a month right?”

Reluctantly Eren nodded and looked down at his phone. He had intended to invite Armin on a date many weeks ago. But so far he hadn’t been able to do so. It didn't matter how much he wanted to go out with Armin, he would always freeze up when he wanted to say the words to Armin. He had tried face to face, it hadn’t worked well. Now he had even tried through the phone and gotten the exact same results. It was frustrating because Eren couldn't explain what was holding him.

That was the reason why the two best friends were sitting at a restaurant, not far from Jean's workplace. In his desperation, Eren had asked for Jean's help a few days ago. As his best friend, Jean knew him better than most and he had been in a similar situation with Mikasa. He would definitely be able to help even when that meant Eren would suffer through Jean making fun him – although he wasn’t taking it really well at the moment.

“Well what can I say? You’re taking time to build the relationship. Mikasa is proud of you, you know?” Something in Eren’s posture might have given away his murdering intent because Jean quickly sobered up.

“Anyway, your last phone call was a failure in the dating area. Big deal. You need to keep trying. Call him tonight again and try to ask him out again.”

“I’m not ready…”

“And you’ll never be at this rate. Oh give me a break Eren. There's nothing complicated about calling and saying ‘Hey Armin, want to go out with me?’ I mean the guy clearly wants in your pants, for reasons I don't even understand. He could do so much better.”

“Are you jealous or something? And excuse you very much. Unlike you, Armin doesn’t want in my pants.” Eren smiled roguishly. Teasing he could so very much.

Jean snorted and shook his head.

“Sure he doesn’t. And in case you missed it I'm very satisfied with Mikasa, thank you. Seriously though, you've got everything going for you. I mean Armin Likes you with a big L. So why the struggle Eren?”

“Hell if I understand it myself.”

He wasn't afraid of being rejected by Armin. If anything it was the contrary. During the past few weeks, his relationship with Armin had improved to the point where they had exchanged phone numbers and were now caling each other regularly. Armin also interacted with Mikasa, Jean and Connie as if they had known each other since forever. The accidents at the shop had also decreased a lot when Eren and the others were there, sure sign that Armin was getting over his awkwardness around Eren. Well he would still get flushed around Eren from time to time something Eren found absolutely adorable.

“You're getting that weird look on your face again. You’re thinking about Armin right? That's good but it's no time to be day-dreaming. I need to get back to work soon, my break is almost over. Do you want to get your guy or not?”

Eren nodded but Jean wasn't satisfied with that, if his upturned brow was anything to go by.

“Fine. Yes, I really want Armin. I mean I want to go out with Armin, of course. That's the reason why I asked your help.”

“Just what I wanted to hear.” Jean said with a satisfied grin. “The conditions are pretty much in your favor. And from what I've seen, Armin is pretty much waiting for you to make the first step. Call him again. If you're not sure about what to say just talk about something you like? I don't know like that movie that's coming out this week-end? The one with those weird creatures you wanted to see?”

“The Hobbit, Jean. It's called the hobbit.” Eren shook his head at Jean lack of interest in what Eren considered the movie of the moment. “It's going to be a masterpiece. I can't wait how they animate Smaug and the battle inside the castle. The first movie...”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. But see? Talk about that and then try to ask him if he would like to go see it with you. Date movies is a good way to start. You could add diner out if you're daring.” Jean glanced at the clock and got up from the table “Okay my break ends soon so I’m heading back to work. I expect you to go through with it this time. Stop stalling or you'll never get around doing. Then we'll have to suffer through seeing your ugly moping face.”

“I don’t mope. Even if I did my face would never be as ugly as yours, that’s fact.

“Sure. Call me once it’s done okay?” He yelled as he got out of the restaurant.  
That earned Eren another round of glares from the neighboring tables but his mind was too focused on his next phone call for him to care.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

“You can do it. Be natural and don’t put pressure on Armin. Everything will be fine. You can do it.”

Eren said that out loud to himself while he waited for Armin to pick up the phone. When he heard the click at the other end of the phone he tried to find a comfortable sitting positing on his bed and breathe out slowly.

“Hello?” The tired voice almost had him hanging up. He had waited too long before calling and it was well past 11.pm. Maybe Armin was already in bed.

“Hey Armin. It's Eren. Sorry for bothering you, I know it's kinda late-”

“Eren? Hey. You’re not bothering at all.”

He didn't miss the way Armin voice shifted from tired to awake the moment he recognized him. It was nothing much but it still helped bring down his nervousness a notch. “I hope you weren't sleeping already? Just thought I would call and check on you.”

“Just getting ready to sleep but not asleep yet. I’ve been doing great. The convention is ended today thankfully. What about you? How have you been? I saw Mikasa yesterday, she came in with Sasha. She told me you've been busy training because you guys have a match coming up?”

“Oh yeah! We're playing against another team from Stuttgart in a few weeks. We've been busy between practice and school. It's a “friendly” match but it's no reason for us to slack off, like the coach would say. So practice has been very intensive.”

“Well I don't know much about football, I'm not much of a sport fan. Are they any good though, that team?”

“The Scouts Legion? They are. We also have a revenge to take against them.”

“You don’t sound too happy about it. With your tone of voice, I’m starting to wonder to think the match will really be friendly.”

Either Armin was very perceptive or he knew him way too well already. Maybe both and that didn’t bother him Eren in the slightest bit.

“Busted huh? The Scouts and the Titans are something akin to arch enemies. From what I've heard, we've been rivals for a long time. It doesn't help that recently, they've won more matches than us both official and friendly. You can say we're really fired up. Well, I am. I won't let them win over the Titans next time.”

“You do sound intense. I guess I'll be cheering for you from afar then. I hope you guys win this.”

“I wish you would come cheer for us at the stadium. I would like that even more.”

As soon as the world were out, Eren wanted to throw the phone away. Had he just _thought_ that out loud? Armin sharp breath intake in the phone was as good confirmation as any.

“Armin I’m sorry, I... I'm -I didn't...” He flushed when he heard himself stumble. Why did he have to screw everything when their conversation had been going great so far?

For a long time, neither of them said anything. Eren kept on wishing he could rewind and keep his thoughts and desires where they belonged, in his head. He refused to think about Armin’s reaction, probably shocked and embarrassed.

_Someone make me disappear please._

“Eren, I... Did you… Did you mean what you just said?”

“I'm sorry. Really, I didn't...”

“No you said that... you would like it if I came...” Armin said softly.

 _Well you were looking for a way to invite him, right? There you have one opportunity._ Eren grip tightened on his cell phone. It was now or never.

“Yes. Yes I would like it if you came to see us play. I know you don't like football...”

“I would love to.”

“... but it's really fun and... Wait what?”

“I will come to see you - I mean to cheer you guys on. I'll come to cheer.”

“Really?”

“Yeah Eren, I'm going.”

“Wow. Yes! Okay. Ah, sorry I'm really happy. But man, that was... so not cool.” They both laughed at that.

“You didn't mean to say that did you?” Eren didn't answer that and Armin laughed. “That's what I thought. Well I'm really glad I'm not the only one this kind of thing happens to.”

“Oh believe me, you're not.”

Despite being on the phone, Eren jumped off his bed and pump his fist in victory. Armin would be for the next match. Many would say that didn't qualify as a date, but he didn't really care. For him, it was a date of sort although it wasn't the one he had in mind really.

“Eren?”

“Ah yeah! I'm still there. I was just thinking about how the conversation went into a different direction.”

“Yep. Things don't always go the way you planned them. From you calling to check on me we got to an invitation to your next game.”

That wasn't the real reason for his phone call though. He had wanted to invite Armin out to the movies with him. Well the cat was already out the bag so why not ask for the real date?

“Checking on you wasn’t exactly why I called. I was wondering if you would you like to… if you’re not busy this week-end and… ImeantheresthismoviecomingoutsaturdayandIwanted...”

Armin was silent for a second before he started laughing again.

“Wait, wait. I can't get what you're saying Eren...”

“Do you want to go on a date with me Saturday?”

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

Sitting at the back of the car Armin let his tired feet rest. Why had he thought it was a good idea to tell Historia that he had a date on Saturday? Ah he hadn’t thought it was a great idea so much as he had no choice but to tell her. Eren dropping by the shop to confirm their schedule for Saturday with Armin didn’t go unnoticed and she had pressed him for answers.

Much like his YouTube subscribers after his last vlog, Historia had been happy for him. Although unlike his suscribers, Historia hadn't sent him message wishing he would film his and Eren date for them, she had felt they needed to make an obligatory trip to the nearest mall area.

“Historia is right. You got 2 dates in one night Armin, that's a new record. You more than deserve a date makeover for such a feat.” Ymir had told him when she came to pick up her girlfriend from work. He had just rolled his eyes and smiled affectionately. Because really how many times had Historia been wrong when it came to Ymir?

“A date makeover? I like the way I look, thank you.”

“It's not really a makeover. It will be fun Armin, you'll see.” Historia had a bright smile on as she made the promise.

Half a dozen beauty salons, spas, shoes, perfume and clothing stores, Armin was groaning about him falling again for Historia’s angelic smile and believing in her. Thankfully this time around, even Ymir felt just as tired, complaining to her smaller girlfriend when she drove them all back home.

“Never again, Historia. You know how much I hate spending shopping. I should have known you would do something like that. Now, my feet are killing me.”

“I know, I'm sorry. But Armin doesn't get a date every day. He needed to be pampered.” When Ymir and Armin’s answers were tired groans, Historia laughed.

“I'll take care of your legs when we get home. Better than that...” She leaned over the console to Ymir’s driver seat, and whispered something to her ear. Armin only caught the word massage out of it all and saw the way Ymir instantly brightened a little more. He really didn’t need a picture to know what Historia said.

“Here we go Armin.” Ymir said as she parked in front of his building.

Armin was too tired to answer. He just grabbed his shopping bags and got out of the car. Historia insisted on helping him carry his bags inside so they went to his apartment together. After they dropped the bags on the carpet, she grabbed his hand and had him looking at her.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” Armin instantly knew she was talking about his date with Eren the next day.

“I guess, happy, excited and anxious all the same. I still can’t believe I’m going out with Eren tomorrow.”

Historia smiled reassuringly at him. “That’s normal. You’ve been waiting for this for a long time. No more of those doubts you had before right?” Doubts referring to Armin questioning his luck at some point during the past month.

He had wondered if it had really been a coincidence that Eren talked to him right after that comment on YouTube. What if he was victim of some kind of prank? Even Marco, his usually carefree friend had found it strange and asked him to make sure this wasn't a set-up of sort. Like the unknown person on YouTube was one of Eren's friends and they had decided to have fun with Armin's crush on him.

“From what you said about him, I don't think he's all that bad of a guy. But it could be a ploy to get to you. You can never be careful enough.” Marco had advised him. Historia had said something similar to him when he had asked her opinion too. Armin had acted carefully, keeping his feelings to himself and observing Eren’s behavior.

But after interacting with Eren and his friends more often, Armin had felt nothing but genuine interest in him as a friend from them. Until their last phone call, he hadn't even thought that Eren liked him in that way. His offhanded compliments and smiles at him didn't really count as indicators that Eren wanted more. But he did and Armin was happy.

“No more doubts. I’m ready to try this out. I just hope I don’t embarrass myself or him when we go out.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. You’ve been doing great those recently. Everything will be fine, have more faith in yourself.” Historia kissed him goodnight and insisted Armin rest when he offered to see her down.

“Ah and don’t forget to wear those black pants. You really look good in it and that with that new haircut… Eren won’t know what hit him.” She said before she closed the door behind her. Armin watched the closed door, wishing that everything went as smoothly as Historia believed it would.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we finally come to the date night with this 5th chapter. Thanks again for all the lovely comments.

He wasn’t having a case of nerves, it was all excitement. That was the reason why he was standing in front of the door and hadn’t knocked yet. He hadn't wiped his palm twice already on his jeans. He was ready to do this, Eren told himself. This wasn’t his first time - he had dates in the past. He ran a hand through his hair, rearranged his dark brown sweater, put on his biggest smile and finally knocked. It opened almost immediately and Eren gaped when he saw Armin.

“Wow!” The word was out before he could stop it.

The blonde had dressed casually with dark pants and a white t-shirt. But the way his clothes molded his slender frame made it look anything but casual. His blue eyes had been enhanced with a light touch of black eyeliner and his lips had a slight shine to them. He had trimmed his blond hair, cut them shorter around his nape and now they were framing his face much more elegantly.

He must have stared for a long time because the blonde suddenly coughed, .

“Well… hm…”

“You look great!”

“I do?” Armin looked at himself then back at Eren who nodded back vehemently. He then smiled, obviously pleased. “Thank you Eren. You don’t look half bad yourself.”

“Hey! I’ll let you know those jeans and this sweater are my favorites.”

“I was kidding. You look as handsome as always.”

Armin clamped his hand over his mouth and turned back inside hurriedly.

“Hm, I’ll grab my keys so we can go.”

Eren’s hand shot out to stop him before he made it back inside his apartment.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m flattered you think I’m handsome. I think you’re adorable. Scratch that, you’re downright sexy tonight.”

Armin’s cheeks heated under the compliment.

“You do? Wait no, don’t answer that.” He sighed. “This is awkward, sorry.”

Eren laughed and shook his head, thinking that Armin wouldn’t be so down on himself if he had seen him pacing in front of the door minutes earlier.

“Hey I like awkward, I think that’s us in a nutshell. Remember when I called you to ask you out?” They both laughed and Eren could feel Armin relax again. “So… Are you ready to go on an adventure?”

Armin’s looked at him unsure for a moment before comprehension hit him. “Can you promise I’ll return unharmed?” The serious expression on his face was betrayed with the way his blue eyes shined with laughter.

“I can’t guarantee your safety if you come on this adventure with me.” Eren answered with a serious on his face too. They soon started to smile, then laughed with each other. Once again, Eren thanked whatever higher power had allowed him to meet a guys who also share his passion for the Hobbit.

“I really need to go grab my keys so if you could…” Armin said pointing to where Eren was still holding his hand. Eren flushed and immediately released him.

“Sorry.”

“No worries. Do you want to come inside?” Armin left his door opened when he went back inside to grab his keys. Eren shook his head. Maybe later, if their date went fine.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

From the moment he had seen Eren’s car, Armin had fallen in love with the red Audi A4. Sleek, fast and powerful, it fitted Eren to a T. He had always felt that there was something wild about the brunette and it went along well with the car. Now as he sat he sat inside and watched Eren drive them though the city with a sure hand, he felt more than ever that the car was made for him. He wondered if Eren’s father had thought about that when he bought him that car as a gift.

Conversation went easily between them inside the car. Since they had a few hours left before their movie show time, they both decided to have diner before. Eren drove them to a small restaurant not too far from the movie theater.

“My parents live and work in Berlin. Mom comes here often to see us, but my dad rarely has time so when he does, he treats us to one of his favorites restaurant around here. The last time he came here he took all three of us to eat at this place. They serve all kind of food there.”

Armin frowned, thinking back to Eren telling him his only sibling was Mikasa. “That's great. What do you mean by three?”

“It’s three of us as in Mikasa, Jean and I. Dad has always considered Jean as family – don’t ask me why. And since Jean is also his darling daughter's ‘sweetheart’, now he’s like my long lost brother who has returned home.”

That made Armin laugh and Eren groaned next to him.

“Don’t laugh. The guy is impossible, you wouldn’t want to spend all day with him.”

“But you still spend most of your time with him don’t you? You guys act like you can’t stand each other but in reality you get along really well.” He had seen the both of them at the restaurant and had hanged out with them enough to see their interactions. Armin thought they acted similarly but he didn’t say that out loud.

“I need to keep you away from Mikasa. She would be happy if she heard someone else shared her views. She used to say we weren’t so different from each other, that it was the reason why we fought so much and became inseparable. But really, they’re the ones who now can’t keep away from each other in the end.” Eren had an affectionate smile on his face as he said that. Armin wasn’t sure if it was due to his sister, his best friend, or both but he liked the way it softened his face.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the restaurant. After they were both seated, Eren gave their drinks order to their waitress.

“Wait until you taste their Bowle. This place has spoiled me for any other punch juice.”

“It must really be something then. Just like this place.” Armin looked around him appreciatively. The place had been decorated with a style that reminded him of old Europe. “I like the design in here, it looks like we’re in an old tavern. Reminds me of those paintings my grandfather had in his study. They would fit great here.” Armin smiled, remembering how he would always imagine himself living in one of his grandfather painting.

“When I was younger, I used to wish I could get inside the paintings and see the world as it was back then. It was all really mysterious to me and I was fascinated with exploring old places. Childhood huh.”

Their waitress came back with the drinks and waited for their food order before she left again. Eren told him about his own adventures as a kid in his father doctor office, a small lab at the back of their house at that time and how Mikasa always would always reprimand both Jean and him about their “lab adventures”.

“We all got those moments when we were kids. But I think your parents being archeologists had something to do with you wanting to see those old places. Archeology study the past in a way after all.” Eren said after they had both sobered up.

“True. My parents were my inspiration very early. I wanted to visit different places and places which had withstood time, which is part of what my parents do as archeologists. They’ve been on each continent and still are so eager to travel.”

“Are they traveling right now?”

“Always. The last time I talked to them they were somewhere down in Guatemala, South America. They’ve been gone for months now.”

“You miss them right?”

Armin met Eren’s sympathetic eyes and smiled sadly “I do although they try to contact me as regularly as possible. They’ve always been gone for as long as I can remember. I think they enjoy moving more than they enjoy the digging antiquities anyway. I just wish they would…”

He berated for bringing up a subject that made him sad when he couldn’t finish up his sentence. This was supposed to be a date, not a visit at the shrink.

“Hey, it’s okay you know I’m glad you’re telling me more about your parents and how you feel. Learning more about what makes you happy, sad or angry is a way to get to know you. And I can always try to comfort you to.” Armin was surprised by the affection he could see in Eren’s expression and sympathy in his eyes. It made him feel better somehow, to know that Eren understood him and didn’t think any less of him. He smiled teasingly.

“You’re way too nice with me. If you’re not careful I’m going to think you’re trying to make me fall harder for those good looks of yours.”

“Oh! So you admit you’ve already fallen for me then?” Eren answered with a teasing smile of his own and Armin wished he could take that back.

Twice now. First he had called him handsome now he had to go and imply - admit rather- that he had already fallen for the brunette. _Why not come right out and confess that you’ve been crushing on him for months now?_ Armin was thankful that their meals arrived right at that moment and created enough distraction for him to act like nothing had happened. Sure Ymir had told him to be a little daring, but he was certain she had meant be daring as in flirt with Eren not tell him everything about your feelings. Some things never changed, he thought dejectedly.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

The rest of their dinner went smoothly enough. Eren didn’t mention Armin’s comment anymore. They changed subject and talked about what they expected out of the movie. Listening to Armin talk animatedly about J.R.R. Tolkien’s books in general, Eren was yet again pleasantly surprised at how much of a Tolkien fan Armin turned out to be. He smirked when he thought about how horrified Jean would have been if he had been sitting there with Armin.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Nothing important. I was just thinking about Jean’s reaction if he had been here.” At Armin’s questioning look, Eren smiled. “He has no interest in Tolkien or any of the books or movies.”

“He would be bored then. Or maybe horrified. My friend Marco says I tend to go ‘full nerd mode’ when I talk about stuff I love. Some people find it annoying.”

Eren scoffed at that and made Armin laugh.

“They don’t know what they’re missing. I really like it though, the way you get so passionate about what you like. I mean about Tolkien’s book.”

Armin flushed a little at that but didn’t add anything else. When it came time to pay their bill, they decided to split it between the two of them- after Armin insisted on paying for his own half. Eren was still pouting and complaining about it being his date so he should have been the one to pay.

“Nope. A date happens between two people. So it’s not ‘your’ but ‘our’ date. It was perfectly normal that I paid my share.” Armin looked almost triumphant as he said that and Eren groaned. He really didn’t need logic for this.

“I’m really glad I already got us the movie tickets.”

“Now you’re just whining.” Armin rubbed his stomach exaggeratedly. “But the food was great. Their Bowle was also excellent, just like you said.”

“Told you. Come on, there is a small park behind the restaurant. We still have an hour before the Hobbit starts.”

Armin nodded and followed Eren down the paved path. They walked in companionable silence, enjoying the almost-summer like night. Once they reached the fountain at the center, they stood there for a while. Eren heard the blonde sigh and turned to find him looking up the sky with his eyes closed.

“Relaxing or… digesting?”

“Both actually.” He opened his eyes and still looked up to the sky. “I feel completely stuffed. I’m glad we’re walking now. I might have fallen asleep during the movie if we went there directly.”

“Don’t even… Then you would have missed everything and I wouldn’t have told you how the movie went even if you begged me.”

“Aw that’s mean.”

Armin pouted in a way Eren found charming.

“Ah and I wouldn’t have taken you out to a good restaurant for the next dates after this one.” _There it goes, what are you going to do now?_ Heart beating a little bit faster he waited for Armin’s reaction and could tell the moment Armin’s got the implied words.

“You want to go out again after tonight?”

“Of course I do.” Coming closer, Eren reached out and grabbed Armin’s shoulders so they were facing each other. With their face up close to each other, Armin blushed again and Eren felt a telling warmth on his own face.

“I… I…”

“Just let me do this first okay?”

Armin nodded silently. I could stare in his eyes all night long. Eren tucked his blonde hair behind his ear and felt the small shiver that went through the blonde.

“I’ve invited you on this date because I wanted to see if we could be more something more. More than friends. I was hoping tonight would be the first date in a series of plenty.” When Armin’s eyes widened, Eren swallowed visibly.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is… I want you… I mean I want to go out with you, be more than friends. So um… would you be my boyfriend?”

The second stretched to minutes as Armin looked at him silently and for Eren, it felt like hours were passing by. Uncertainty set in and he wondered whether he had moved too fast or not. Had he misinterpreted Armin’s comments earlier? Had his feelings changed? He had stopped watching Armin’s videos after that vlog in which the blonde talked about their first interaction. Maybe Armin didn’t like him like that that anymore?

“If- Is this a joke? If it is, it’s not funny Eren. I swear I’m going to kick you so hard if it’s a joke.”

“What? No! Look at me Armin.” Eren grabbed his chin and so his they were looking straight into each other eyes. “I’m going to kiss you okay?”

Eren bent down slowly, waiting to see if the other male would pull out or not. But nothing of the sort happened and their lips pressed against each other. At first they didn’t do much, chastely rubbed their lips together, enjoying the not so hard yet not so soft feel they both got. Soon though they were both seeking each other mouths and their tongue pushed inside. Eren could taste the punch in Armin’s mouth still and groaned when Armin sucked on his tongue. They reached for each other, Armin’s arms around his neck while Eren’s hands on his hips brought their bodies even closer.

Eren wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted before the need to breathe separated them. The dazed expression on Armin’s face almost had him bent in for another kiss again. Armin reached out and touched his lips disbelief written on his face.

“You kissed me…” His earlier flush came back with a vengeance, this time extending to his ears.

“You kissed back too. I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.” Eren nibbled on Armin’s earlobe, drawing short pants from the other boy. “You still haven’t answered me.”

“What about? Oh… the… the boyfriend bit.” Eren nodded and pushed back to look at Armin. Despite the heat on his face, his expression was serious and pensive.

“Are you sure? I’m clumsy and I almost hurt you before. I’m too serious sometimes and…”

“I still want you the way you are. The question is do you want me?”

“Yes! Of course I do. I…” Armin closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them again, a happy smile illuminated his face. “I would love to be your boyfriend.” Yes! I would love to be your boyfriend.” Eren smiled, relieved and dropped a peck on Armin’s forehead.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

Hours later, after the movie was over, Eren drove them back home with one hand. Though they hadn’t done all that much watching really, Armin thought to himself embarrassed and happy. In between long making out session, some light petting and people in the front row snickering and teasing them- because yes they got caught- they hadn’t really paid attention to the movie. Armin looked down at their intertwined hand and shivered.

“What are you thinking about?”

“This date. In the end we didn’t see the Hobbit.”

“True. But I still give this a 10 out of 10.”

Of course he would since they kissed. Armin rolled his eyes but kept silent. In no time they arrived at Armin’s apartment building. After Eren parked in front, Armin thought about inviting him up but then decided against it. After all the petting they had done in the dark, his felt hot. If Eren came back with him, they were almost guaranteed to end up in bed. While a shocked Armin was extremely happy with the turn of events tonight, he still felt like they needed to take their time.

Eren brought their intertwined had to his lips and kissed Armin’s hand before he leaned in and took Armin’s mouth again. They moaned against each other lips as soon as their tongues met. _Maybe taking the next step wouldn’t be such a bad idea_. Even as the thought crossed his mind, Armin rejected it firmly and

“It’s getting late Eren.” He almost laughed when Eren- now his boyfriend- gave him a puppy look. “We should both head home for tonight, Eren. I had a great time, even if we didn’t really get to see the movie.”

“We can always go next week. I was looking forward to spend more time with you though.” When Armin threw a disappointed look his way, Eren winked. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, that not it. I just wanted to be with you some more but hey you’re right. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay. But first text me when you get home?”

“Sure thing, Mom.”

“You wouldn’t kiss your Mom the way you kissed me.” Laughing, Armin got out of the car before Eren’s could grab him.

“I’ll have you for this.”

“Yeah sure. Goodnight Eren.”

“ ’Night Armin. Dream of me tonight.” _Like he didn’t do it often already_. Armin scoffed

It wasn’t until he was inside his apartment that Armin fully took in everything that happened that evening. They had kissed. Eren had asked him out. They were now boyfriends! It still felt unbelievable to him but Armin felt incredibly happy. He made a little happy dance, jumped on his couch and then finally let a scream of victory. Who would have thought their date would go that well? Maybe a little too well. He couldn’t stop that thought and his earlier good mood was melted into apprehension. Was everything too good to be true?

His cell phone beeped then and he saw Eren's text about him being home safe. _No gloom tonight, just happy thoughts and dreams._ He knew his dreams would be good, definitely.


End file.
